The New Girl (The Ninja Way)
by MorllyberNo.1
Summary: Maria is the new girl at the Ninja Academy. After the fire in the forest, she goes to live with her new best friend, Shikamaru Nara, and they decide to find her last name. But during the Battle for Konoha, she discovers she has a power that nobody would have considered possible. A book in my Naruto series.
1. The Hut in the Forest

**A/N: HELLO EVERYBODEEYYY! *in a Grover from Sesame Street voice, waving arms around* (Yeah, I'm a nutter)**

**Well, this is yet ANOTHER book in my not-so-famous-YET Naruto series. NO, I don't have a name for it yet. I'll let y'all know when I do, 'kay? 'Kay. ;)**

**Sorry for the long waits between chapters, I've got a lot of stories going and I want the chapters in this one to be niiiiice and lonnnnng :)**

**DISCLAIMER (which counts for all chapters) : I DO NOT own ANY of the ORIGINAL Naruto characters or contents. I DO claim ownership of Kaze, Maria, Skye, Faith and Hope, some of which are still to come. Aya and Reika belong to Gaara's Babe on Movellas.**

**Morllyber signing out! Peace out, dudes! ;)**

* * *

Shikamaru Nara, a 13 year old boy was lounging around at his desk at the Ninja Academy.

"Okay everybody, listen up." Their teacher, Iruka addressed the class. "We have a new student in our class as of now, so I want you to be supportive and show her around." He nodded to a girl at the door who then walked towards Iruka. She had pale skin and pale gold eyes. She had silver hair pulled into a simple, loose braid and her height and body type were average. She was slightly on the skinny side, though. She wore a simple black hoodie jacket and black leggings. Shikamaru stared. The only word for her was beautiful. Even Sasuke was interested. "Could you introduce yourself, please?" Iruka asked the girl.

"Hi, my name's Maria," the girl said, smiling. She had a kind, mellow voice. "Pleasure to meet you all."

"Thank you," Iruka said. "There's a spare seat next to Shikamaru, there." He pointed and Maria walked over and sat beside Shikamaru.

"Hey," she said to him.

"Hi," Shikamaru said. "I'm Shikamaru Nara."

"Pleasure," Maria smiled at him.

"Okay, Maria," Iruka said, "We've been working on chakra control. Do you know what that is?" Maria nodded. "Good. Okay everyone, let's go outside and run over what we've been doing." He lead the way outside and all the students followed him.

Shikamaru stood up, sighed and followed suit. Maria walked behind him. He looked around and regarded her. She was spinning a ring in her fingers. It looked like it was made of tree leaves and horse hair. She looked up from what she was doing and saw Shikamaru looking at her. He flushed slightly and looked away. He risked a glance back and saw that she was smiling.

What a drag, he thought to himself.

* * *

"See you later, Shikamaru!"

"Yeah, see you." Shikamaru began walking towards his house. He was crossing a bridge over the busy village roads below when he saw her. Maria. She was walking along and he could hear her humming a song that he didn't know. He allowed himself a small smile. Then he noticed where she was going. She was walking out of the village. Shikamaru decided to follow her. Reaching the edge of the village, she glanced behind her and began running. Shikamaru ran after her.

Soon she reached a cliff and stopped. She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Loud and sharp. Then she jumped. Shikamaru cried out. There was only rocky ground below; she would kill herself! Then he sighed in relief as she landed on a rock, unharmed. Then there was a sound and a huge four-legged creature came up to Maria. Maria easily climbed onto the chestnut stallion and he reared up and jumped. He jumped right over the river that was below and took off. The stallion was going so fast he was almost out of sight when Shikamaru began following them. Maria was laughing with joy, clutching onto the stallion's mane and leaning forward onto his neck. Then the roaring stallion slowed to a halt and Maria was rubbing it's neck and shushing him. She brought her legs up and stood on his back. She reached behind her and pulled out something from her bag. In a flash, it was out and flying straight to where Shikamaru was hiding in a bush.

Shikamaru jumped out of the way just as the kunai stuck into the ground. Maria was horrified. Shikamaru pulled the kunai out of the ground and walked over to the horse. The gleaming chestnut turned and snorted, baring his teeth at the boy. Maria hadn't lost her balance at all, in fact it was like she barely noticed him turning. She jumped off his back and stood between him and Shikamaru.

"Easy, Yarraman." She murmured, rubbing his muzzle. "He's a friend, it's alright." The horse, Yarraman," snorted again but retreated, nodding his head to Shikamaru. Maria turned to him as he held out the kunai. She took it. "What are you doing here, Shikamaru?" she asked.

"I followed you from the village." he replied, scratching the back of his neck. "You looked like you didn't want anyone following you."

"Which probably meant that I didn't, you idiot." Maria shot. "It's not safe around here."

"Really?" Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. "Then why do you live here?"

"I've always lived here." she looked at Yarraman, who had nudged her shoulder. "What is it?" Yarraman nickered, moving his head behind him. "Yes, alright. I'm coming." She looked back at Shikamaru. "Now that you're here, you may as well come along." She said. "Hop on."

Shikamaru blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard." Maria beckoned him, and he approached slowly. "Ever ridden before?"

"Uh," Shikamaru couldn't continue. The mere sight of Yarraman and his huge, powerful figure gave him doubts.

"I'll take that as a no." Maria nodded to the horse, who blinked and lay down. "Yarraman won't hurt you unless you hurt me. We're good like that." She grabbed Shikamaru's arm and, ignoring his protests, put him towards the back of Yarraman. Then she got on herself, sitting just in front of him. "Hold onto my waist." She told him.

"What?" he said.

"Just do it," she replied. "Unless you want to fall of. It hurts, believe me." Yarraman shot out his forelegs and pushed himself up. Maria took hold of his main and patted his neck. "Ready?" She asked the horse. He reared up and Shikamaru grabbed Maria's waist just as the beast took off so fast he nearly came off. Maria laughed at his shock.

The trio went flying across the rocky hills. Jumping over logs and weaving in and out of trees they went, Yarraman screaming, Maria laughing and Shikamaru frozen in terror.

Soon enough they slowed to a stop in a small clearing. There was a wooden hut in the middle of the clearing, and you could hear birds chirping and a stream a little while away.

"Well done, Yarraman," Maria played with the stallion's mane and he whinnied in triumph. Maria removed Shikamaru's arms from around her and he slid off. She swung her leg over his neck and sat facing Shikamaru. "Welcome to my humble home." She said, sliding off Yarraman's back. The horse nuzzled her shoulder and trotted off behind the hut. "Want to come in?" She smiled and led the way into her house.

Pushing aside a length of thick material, she revealed a room which housed wooden furniture and a fireplace with a huge pot hanging over it. There was a little whinny from the back of the room.

"Bess? Is that you?" She made her way towards the sound. A tiny foal jumped up and walked over to her with shaking legs. "How are you doing?" she murmured to her. Bess nipped Maria's shirt playfully. Maria smiled and gave the foal an apple from her bag. Leaving the foal to it's snack she stood up and faced Shikamaru, who was staring at her. "This is it. It's not much, mind you."

"A one-room house?" Shikamaru asked, looking around.

"Butt out." Maria said sarcastically.

"Where do you get the names for your horses?" he asked.

Maria smiled and took some books off a table near her. She held them up. The Silver Brumby, Wild Echoes Ringing and Man from Snowy River. "I get them from here. I name them according to their looks. Or the closest one."

"I see." Shikamaru looked at the foal munching away at the apple. "So, where are your parents?" Maria was silent. She sat down again and rubbed the foal's back, who nickered kindly.

"They're dead." She muttered sadly. "When I was born. Apparently some ninja from the Hidden Stone attacked us here. Mama and Papa died protecting me. After living by myself out here alone, I decided to become a ninja myself. So I could protect the people I care about. So I can honour the memories of my parents."

Shikamaru was silent. He didn't know what to say to the poor girl. She had lost both her parents, was looking after herself like this and was training to become a ninja. She had gone through so many hardships and Shikamaru... hadn't gone through any of that.

"I'm sorry for you." He said at last. "I don't know what else to say."

"It's okay." Maria's voice was suddenly strong and proud. "You have nothing to say. I have my friends with me. That's all I need."

Shikamaru smiled. He smiled at how strong she was emotionally, and at how she had managed to do all this by herself for this long. "I'll be here for you," he told her, which got him a skeptical glance. "It'll be a drag, but I'll be here."

"When those ninja come back for me, you'll wish you hadn't said that." she warned.

"I'll take my chances."

Maria grinned. "Thank you!" Looking away, she noticed the sun's position. "You should go. It's getting late." She stood up and Bess followed suit. She swallowed the last bit of apple and poked her nose in Maria's bag, looking for more. Maria poked the foal on the nose. "No you don't, little miss." She led the way out again and made that piercing whistle. Yarraman walked up and lay down again. The pair got on his back and they took off again.

Once they reached the cliff they climbed off the horse and jumped up onto the little ledge. Maria took a rope from her bag, which was tied to a hook. She threw it up the cliff side and it caught. She pulled it to make sure it was secure and handed it to Shikamaru.

"See you tomorrow," she said.

"See you," Shikamaru climbed up the cliff and rolled onto the top. He unhooked the rope and threw it down to Maria, who stowed it in her bag. With one final smile, she jumped down and was gone, reappearing on Yarraman's back, galloping off.

* * *

"Where were you?" Shikamaru's mother asked accusingly when he finally reached home. "I was worried sick."

"I was with a friend," Shikamaru sighed. "Get off my case."

"Are you going with this friend again tomorrow?"

"Yes. Okay?"

"Alright, just tell me when you decide to take off."

Shikamaru sighed again and wandered into his room. He flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He had only known the new girl for one day and already... he didn't know. That was a thought he couldn't finish. The girl with silver hair and golden eyes was amazing in her own way.

And, still thinking that, he fell asleep.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Maria?" Iruka asked the class that morning. Everybody shook their heads and mumbled no.

"Who's Maria?" Choji Akimichi whispered to Shikamaru.

"A new girl in our class." Shikamaru whispered back. "Started yesterday. Nobody's seen her since end of school yesterday." That was a lie. Shikamaru had seen the girl yesterday, but he didn't tell him that. "She just disappeared and hasn't shown up today."

"I wonder what's going on." Choji muttered to himself.

"Yeah," Shikamaru was worried.

_"Some ninja from the Hidden Stone attacked us."... "When those ninja come back for me..."..._

He couldn't stop repeating those words in his head, the words she had spoken about the attack that killed her parents. He looked out one of the windows, which overlooked the hills where Maria lived. It was peaceful, so maybe she was just sick today, but he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had.

* * *

Shikamaru left Choji at his house after school and walked in the direction of Maria's house. He remembered the route perfectly, and had reached the cliff in no time. He jumped over onto the ledge and then down onto the ground. Seeing as he couldn't whistle like Maria could, he'd just have to walk.

Then there was an explosion.

Smoke filled the air around the area where Maria's house was built. Shikamaru froze for a second, and the next he was running as fast as he could towards the smoke. There were yells carried across the wind and a ringing neigh. Thundering of hooves came towards Shikamaru and he hid in a nearby bush, just in case. Yarraman came into view and Shikamaru emerged from the bush. The horse tugged at his shirt sleeve and pulled him toward a log. Shikamaru stood on the log and swung himself onto Yarraman's back. He leaned forward and held onto his mane as Maria had and the mighty horse shot off like a rocket.

"Please be okay, Maria," Shikamaru muttered to himself. "Please be okay."

Faster than the day before they had reached the hut, which was on fire. It was endlessly burning and it hurt to get close. But Shikamaru launched himself off Yarraman and, taking a deep breath, plunged himself into the burning hut.

"Maria?" He shouted over the roar of the flames. "Maria!"


	2. The Chestnut Stallion

Shikamaru looked around the burning hut. Nothing would survive this fire, as intense as it was.

"Maria!" he roared. He made his way over to the corner where Bess had been the previous day. The table had fallen down and had was burning quickly, along with the books the girl had put on the table. He kicked the tabletop out of the way and saw a hand, badly burnt. Ignoring the pain in his own body, he grabbed the hand and pulled. It was Maria's body, which was burning. He grabbed her under the arms and pulled her out of the house and away from the fire.

Yarraman was waiting outside and was jumping around nervously. When he saw Shikamaru pulling Maria out of the house he ran over and tugged on his shirt again. He led the way around the back of the hut where there was a stream. Yarraman jumped in and out of it, splashing water everywhere. Shikamaru carefully lowered Maria's body into the stream. The flames on her body went out with a sizzling sound.

And time seemed to stand still until Maria drew a ragged breath, and Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief. He pulled Maria out of the water and onto Yarraman's back, who had lain down for him. He got on behind her and covered her body with his. Yarraman stood up and ran towards the village. The wind seemed to make him faster and he didn't slow down for one second.

Then ninja from the village appeared in front of them and Yarraman reared up, screaming. Shikamaru yelled to the horse and he calmed down a little.

"Shikamaru!" Iruka called to him. "What do you think you're doing here?"

Shikamaru just lifted his body up to show them Maria's burned figure. "We need to get her to the hospital," he said. "Now!"

"Yes," Iruka nodded. "You take her, we'll go and sort this out!" Shikamaru nodded. "Go!" Iruka gave those orders and ran off with the other Shinobi. Yarraman took off again and ran through the forest. By the time they had reached the cliff, Yarraman was panting and sweating. but nevertheless, he ran to one side and climbed his way up a steep hill. Once he got to the top, her reverted to his top speed and ran on. Shikamaru was flat on his back, his arms around the stallion's neck and covering Maria. They ran into the village and heads turned as they barreled past towards the hospital.

Before they knew it, Yarraman had screeched to a halt outside the village hospital and had reared up with a mighty neigh. Doctors and nurses were rushing out, asking why there was a wild horse in the village.

Shikamaru slid off the stallion's back and pulled Maria off after him. He looked at the horse, who was breathing heavily and foaming instead of just sweating.

"Thank you," he said to him. He turned to the nurses. "She needs urgent treatment." he told them, letting them take Maria inside. His vision began to go blurry. He heard a loud _thump_ and saw that Yarraman had collapsed for exhaustion. Shikamaru's knees gave way and blackness came rushing to meet him.

* * *

Shikamaru's eyes fluttered open to the white ceiling of the hospital. He heard the scratching of a pen nearby and turned his head to look. He winced in pain and inhaled sharply. A lady in a white coat with long brown hair and brown eyes turned at the noise.

"Good, you're awake." she said, walking over to him. She picked up up a clipboard and got straight to it. "Your burns are serious, but they're healing fine. Just don't try to move too much." She put the clipboard back down and looked at him. "You're a lucky one." It was then Shikamaru notices the bandages on his arms and face. "Yep. You shouldn't have gone into that hut. You could've been killed." Then she smiled. "Then again, we're all very glad you did go in, otherwise Maria would be dead, too."

"How is she?" Shikamaru asked.

"Still unconscious, but she'll be alright. She was even luckier."

"And Yarraman?"

The lady was confused. "Who's Yarraman?"

"The horse."

"Oh! He's alright too. He's being fed and washed. He worked himself till he collapsed. You were lucky he was around."

Shikamaru managed a small smile. "He wouldn't leave Maria willingly. They're good like that."

The lady smiled again. "I see." She walked over to the door. "You have some people who want to see you." She opened the wing door and Shikamaru's mother and father, Shikaku and Yoshino rushed in, along with Choji. They all surrounded his bed and the lady walked out.

Choji talked first. "How are you?"

"No clue." Shikamaru replied.

Yoshino butted in. "You're a fool, Shikamaru. You shouldn't have gone!" she accused. "You could have died!"

"Yoshino, calm down." Shikaku told her. "He saved that girl. That deserves a 'well done'." He looked at his son. "Well done, son." Shikamaru smiled.

* * *

A few days later, Shikamaru was walking up and down in his hospital ward. He was wincing every now and again, but otherwise he was fine. At least, he thought so.

"Good," The lady said. "I'd say you can go. But don't over-exert yourself until you're fully recovered." Then she had a thought. "Oh, and a foal has joined Yarraman in the stables. A little bay filly, do you know her?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Bess."

"Good! Now, I assume you'd like to see Maria?" She smiled at Shikamaru's urgent nod. "Okay then. Come this way." She led the way out of the ward, down a hall, left, down a hall and right into another room. She opened the door and held it open for him. There was a single bed and a girl with silver hair, this time loose and hanging around her shoulders, was sitting up the bed. She looked up and her eyes lit up as Shikamaru entered the room.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Maria said brightly from the bed. "I was hoping you'd come soon. What took you so long?"

"Calm down, these burns take a while to heal, you know." Shikamaru smiled back at her. "It'll be a drag, but I'll be up soon."

"That's good." Maria sighed and looked at her hands, which were bandaged tightly. "I can't exactly say the same about me, though." Shikamaru sat down in a chair beside her bed and gave her a reassuring little smile. She flushed a little and smiled again. Shikamaru flushed himself and looked away.

"I'm sure you'll be up soon." He assured her, scratching the back of his neck.

"Thanks, but the doctor says it'll be at least another week before I can leave." She reached over and took his hand. "Thank you for getting me out of there. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for this." She winced at the movement, but she ignored her own pain. "Really."

Shikamaru looked at the girl. "It's okay. It's what comrades do, right?" What happened next surprised him. Maria leaned in even further and kissed his cheek softly.

"Comrades, huh?" She murmured. "You're going to wish you hadn't said that one day."

Shikamaru was silent. He scratched his neck again. _What a drag._


	3. The Guitar

Two weeks after the fire in the forest, Maria was about to get out of the hospital. Shikamaru was a frequent visitor and came to see her every day.

Maria, who was doing exercises for the nurse, seemed fully recovered. She was bending over forwards and backwards and they found out that she was very flexible. From out of nowhere she jumped backwards onto her hands and flipped herself over onto her feet again. The nurse started lecturing her, saying that she could have done herself more damage and lots of other things that the girl just brushed off. She picked up a bag and went behind a curtain to get changed into her usual clothes and out of the hospital gowns. The nurse checked her over once more and confirmed that she could leave. That got a wide smile.

"Where did that come from?" Shikamaru asked her as they were walking out. "The flip, I mean."

Maria shrugged. "I felt like it. Where's Yarraman and Bess?" Shikamaru sighed. Of course she'd want to know where the horses were. He led the way to the stables where they were being kept.

Once there, Maria whistled softly and a sharp neigh came from one of the stalls, accompanied by a cute little whinny. Maria ran over the stall and sat herself on the gate. She rubbed the stallion's neck and face and cuddled the little filly. Even though they were gleaming from being recently washed, she gave them both a rub down with an ointment produced from her bag, which the horses seemed to enjoy. Afterwards, she simply jumped - literally - onto his back and unlatched the gate. Yarraman walked out and Bess followed suit.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked.

"Back to the forest. I -" she hesitated. "I need to see what's left. Tell whoever wants to know where I went." Shikamaru nodded, and the trio cantered away.

* * *

As Maria rocked back and forth on the stallion's back, she only thought of the little place she called home. As far as she knew, that was gone. They cantered through the village and into the woods and down the hill and over the river and galloped through the forests she was so familiar with. They passed the same trees and same rocks, jumped over the same logs.

When they reached the place where the hut had been, there was only a pile of ash. Burnt wood and ash. Ninja were surrounding it, pulling things away and salvaging what was left. They turned their heads at Maria's approach. They looked at her sadly as she slid off Yarraman's back and walked towards the ash. A few tears escaped her as she stopped and stood where the door was. Something nudged her left palm. She looked down and saw the bay filly looking up at her. She nickered softly. Her eyes told Maria that everything would be alright. Maria smiled sadly and patted the foal. She then looked up and looked at the closest person.

"Is there anything left?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "No. At least, not that we know of."

"Hey, over here!" came another voice. Another ninja stood up, a case in his hands. It was a little melted but otherwise intact. Maria's eyes widened as he walked over. She took it with shaking hands as he handed it to her. She crouched onto one knee, set the case on the ground and flicked open two two latches.

Inside was a beautiful wooden guitar, with beautifully carved roses. Maria smiled and ran her hands along the line of roses. She looked up at the man who had given it to her. "Thank you," she told him. "Thank you very much."

* * *

Shikamaru sat in his room at his house. He was just looking out the window at the clouds as they passed. It was pouring rain and Maria was out in it. He sighed and turned away. He leant back on the sill on his elbows and stared at the ceiling. He remembered that maria had gratefully accepted their offer to stay with him for the time being. Shikaku had called Maria Shikamaru's "Damsel in distress", which both children blushed at. Shikamaru had scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and Maria had just laughed.

Shikamaru was pulled out of his daydream from the sound of pounding hooves outside. He turned and saw a golden horse and a bay foal come to a halt outside. Maria swung herself off Yarraman, who neighed and proceeded to a nearby paddock with Bess following, and ran towards the door. Shikamaru went to meet her. A second later Maria slid the door closed behind her and looked down at herself. Despite being out in the rain she was barely wet. She pulled her hood off and shook her hair. It was still out of its braid. She ran a hand through it and smiled at Shikamaru, who was leaning against the door frame watching her. He looked at her and shook his head the fact that she barely had a drop of water on her.

"When you're riding a horse like Yarraman around, the rain just isn't fast enough." Maria joked. She took a case off her back that Shikamaru hadn't noticed until then. She pushed a little water off it and smiled again. She obviously liked whatever was in it.

"What that?" Shikamaru asked.

"My guitar." Maria replied.

Shikamaru was taken aback. "I didn't know you played."

Maria gave him a mysterious look. "You never asked."

Shikamaru gestured to his room. "Come in?" he asked. Maria smiled and walked in. he room was fairly bare but she seemed to like it. Well, what do you expect from a girl that's lived in a wooden hut all her life? Shikamaru closed the door after himself. "Will you play?" He asked Maria, who turned and nodded. She sat down on the floor and unlatched the case. She took out a beautiful guitar. Shikamaru admired the carved roses along the front, along with the good handiwork of stringing it.

Maria adjusted some of the strings and took a deep breath and exhaled softly. She brought her hands to the strings and began to play.


	4. Squad 10

_The next year went by without a flaw. Choji, Shikamaru and Maria were now great friends and Maria was fitting in well at the Academy, quickly becoming one of the best. Maria had quickly made friends with Kaze Hatake, a kind young girl with flaming red hair and a right eye the brightest blue and a left eye white as snow. Kaze was also the equal-best student in the class. The two girls were rarely out of each others company._

_Shikaku, Shikamaru and Maria were working hard in their spare time, trying to figure out who Maria's parents had been. It turned out that the year they had died was the year the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the village, so it was taking time._

_Graduation time came eventually. It was time to decide who would graduate and become a Genin._

* * *

"Okay, everybody, listen up!" Iruka spoke from the front of the class. Everybody, who had been chatting merrily until that point, fell silent immediately. "When I call your name, follow me into the next room, got it?" Everybody murmured their assent. "Okay, then. First up: Akimichi, Choji!"

So it begun. Kids were called one by one into the nest room.

"Hatake, Kaze!" Came Iruka's voice from the doorway. Kaze, sitting next to Maria, jumped up. Maria gave her a thumbs-up and Kaze grinned and followed Iruka. A few minutes later, Kaze emerged, looking triumphant, with a satisfied little smirk on her face and a Konoha headband in her hand. She went and sat down next to Maria again.

"Too easy." Kaze told her, earning her a high-five.

"What do you do?" Maria asked. Kaze just grinned as Maria's name was called.

Maria followed Iruka into the next room over from theirs. Maria stood in the middle of the room while Iruka sat down next to another man, Mizuki.

"Okay, Maria." Iruka began. "You ready?"

Maria nodded, slightly nervously.

Mizuki continued. "We need you to do a successful cloning jutsu."

Maria nodded again, no longer nervous. She got into her stance and made the hand sign, focusing her chakra. "Clone jutsu!" She said. She looked up at Iruka and Mizuki, who were smiling.

"Two successful clones." Mizuki commented. "Well done."

"Indeed." Iruka said, taking a note. He looked up and held out a blue headband with the silver plate on it, bearing the Konoha symbol. "Congratulations, you've graduated!"

Maria grinned. "Thank you!" She collected her headband and began to quickly walk out of the room.

"Hold on a sec," Iruka said. Maria turned. His kind smile had been replaced with a look of worry. "You've only had one year at the Academy. Are you ready to become a Genin?" he asked.

Maria grinned again. "Don't worry about me, Iruka-sensei." She said. "I know I'll be fine." With that she turned and left. She returned to her seat next to Kaze, who's face broke into a wide grin when she saw Maria.

"Alright!" She said, giving her friend a high-five. "We're both Genin now!"

"That we are." Maria said. "How cool would it be if we're on a squad together?"

Kaze laughed. "That would be too good to be true." Maria laughed as well.

"Uchiha, Sasuke!" Sasuke rose from his seat next to a girl named Aya a few rows back from the girls, his expression blank, as always.

Iruka calling Sasuke's name was greeted with a loud "Woo! Go Sasuke!" and all things similar from - nearly - all the girls in the class.

Reika Oshiro, who was sitting next to Kiba Inuzuka in the back row, imitated them weirdly. "Woo! Go Sasuke!' she cried. She then gave a loud "Bleh!" with a finger in her mouth, imitating being sick. Kiba leant back in his seat, roaring with laughter.

Sasuke returned a few minutes later with a Konoha headband on his forehead. He returned to his seat next to Aya. Kaze and Maria had long since returned to their chatting and admiring their headbands.

* * *

_Later..._

"Look, it's that kid, Naruto."

"I heard he's the only person who didn't graduate!"

"Good thing, too."

"Yeah, imagine what it would be like if he became a Shinobi!"

"What a loser."

Maria glared at the gossipers and looked questioningly at Kaze. "Why do people hate Naruto so much?" she asked her.

Kaze tugged Maria's arm and led her around to the side of the Academy. "Have you ever heard of the 'Nine-Tailed Demon Fox'?" she muttered.

Maria nodded. "Isn't that the thing that tried to destroy the village twelve years ago?"

Kaze nodded. "Well, Kakashi told me that the Fourth Hokage sealed the Nine Tails inside of Naruto."

Maria gasped. "Does he know?"

"No."

Maria looked away. "So that's why..."

Kaze looked away, too. "Yeah. But it's still no excuse for them to treat him the way they do. It's horrible."

"Maria?" Shikamaru's voice came from the road. Maria looked over. Shikamaru was standing there, waiting.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go." So Maria left Kaze and ran over to him.

* * *

The next day...

Maria had taken her usual seat next to Kaze. She had tied her headband onto her right arm. Kaze, on the other hand, had used it as an actual headband, using int to brush her hair out of her face. Her fringe hung over it onto the side of her face and the rest of i was tied up in its usual ponytail.

"Okay, everyone, I'm going to announce the squads." Iruka said from the front of the classroom. He held up a sheet of paper. "Due to odd numbers, two of the teams will have four Genin in them." Maria zoned out until she heard "Kaze Hatake," Kaze looked up, in perfect sync with Maria. "Naruto Uzumaki," who, somehow, had graduated overnight, "Sakura Haruno," (A loud "Yay!" from Naruto and an "Oh, no!" from Sakura) "and Sasuke Uchiha." (A loud "Yes!" from Sakura and a "Dammit!" from Naruto) Maria looked at Kaze, who had a look of resignation on her face.

"Oh, well." She muttered to Maria. "You can't win 'em all."

Once again, they zoned out until they heard "Maria," once again, they both looked up. "Ino Yamanaka," (Maria looked over at Ino, who was smiling at her) "Choji Akimichi," (Choji was also smiling) "and Shikamaru Nara." Maria's stomach was now doing backflips. She couldn't have asked for a better team! Shikamaru's face had brightened when he heard his name on the same team as Maria's.

Maria looked back at Kaze, who had a satisfied smirk on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Maria had held up her hand in warning.

"Not a word." Maria muttered. "One single word and I'll beat you to a pulp."

Kaze continued to smirk. "Awwww," she whispered, ignoring Maria's warning glare. "Somebody in luuuurve?" Maria shoved her friend's shoulder but could not help smiling.

Meanwhile, Naruto was complaining about being on a team with Sasuke. He and Iruka were arguing back and forth on the subject.

"What do you think about your squad?" Maria asked Kaze, muttering under her breath.

Kaze grimaced. "Well, straight up, Naruto's an idiot, so I'm not sure what I think about him. Sakura and I get along fairly well, even though we're not the best of friends. Sasuke..." she trailed off. Maria noticed that she was wringing her hands underneath the table. "Sasuke and I are best friends, even though we don't act like it. My mother and Sasuke's mother were best friends, too. They introduced us when we were children. We took to each other immediately. We played together, we did a little training together with Itachi." Her eyes flared at the name. "But after the Uchiha massacre, we drifted apart. Sasuke became cold and heartless. I continued as I always had, but Sasuke was never the same." She finished. "So, we get along well, and we fight well together, so I think our squad will be fine."

Maria was shocked. She never knew this much about Kaze. But she smiled despite what she had just heard. "You guys will be great!"

Kaze smiled back. "At least you get the team with 'Formation Ino-Shika-Cho'."

"What's -"

But just then everyone had started rising from their seats and leaving in their squad groups. Kaze ran over to join Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto and Maria hurried over to Shikamaru, Choji and Ino.

Choji was munching away on a bag of chips (as usual), Shikamaru was looking very bored (as usual) and Ino looked happy yet sad at the same time.

"What's getting you down?" Maria asked her.

When Ino didn't answer, Shikamaru obliged. "She's just upset that she didn't get on a team with Sasuke." He put his hands behind his head as they started to walk out. "She's another girl with a fangirl crush on Sasuke." Maria saw Ino's face turn pink but she continued to walk out. Maria smirked.

It was going to be an interesting day.

* * *

**A/N: Sup guys, Morllyber here! So, I've changed this around a little due to my new SERIES I'm writing. It's got most of my Naruto fanfics, along with a VERY special one from Gaara's Babe called "To Kill an Uchiha". So that's where the extra bits with Aya, Reika, Sasuke, Kiba, ect came from.**

**And to all the people who fan me/my books, thank you heaps for the encouragement! Special notice to ChelberNo.1 and Gaara's Babe. Luv you all!**


	5. A New Sensei

Squad #10, consisting of Maria, Ino, Choji and Shikamaru sat on a bench just outside the academy. Well, Maria actually sat in a tree next to the others.

They all looked up as a man walked up to them. He was dressed in the typical Jonin getup. Tied around his waist was a white sash with the Hokage symbol on it. As he walked he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it.

"Squad 10?" he asked the four. When they nodded he said, "Good. My name is Asuma Sarutobi and I'll be your Jonin squad leader."

Then the four kids started coughing from the cigarette smoke and their eyes started to water. Asuma laughed.

"There's no need to start crying, I've only introduced myself!" He boomed. His voice was low and kind, like a father.

Shikamaru pointed at the cigarette. "It's the smoke, it's making our eyes water!" He coughed. He looked back at Maria. She didn't seem to be affected by it as much as everyone else.

She raised an eyebrow at his questioning look. "Do you really need to ask that?" She asked.

"Oh yeah," he turned back, still coughing.

"Well, why don't we all introduce ourselves?" Asuma asked, grinning.

Maria, who had quickly gotten used to the smoke, wiped her eyes. "What do you want us to say?"

"Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and maybe your dream or your goal in life." Asuma suggested.

"Okay," Maria smiled. "My name's Maria. I don't know my last name and never have. I like lilies, especially lilac ones. I also love horses, my stallion Yarraman has been with me for as long as I can remember. Bess, his foal, was born last year. I dislike people who are annoying and get in my way. My hobbies are hanging out with Kaze Hatake, my best friend, and playing Shogi with her. Another hobby is playing my guitar, which a presume belonged to my parents. My dream is to find out who my parents were." She said simply. "And that's all."

Asuma looked intrigued. "Thank you, Maria." He said with a kind smile. "Who's next?"

As everyone else introduced themselves one by one, Maria stared off into space. She desperately tried to remember _something_ about her parents, but every time she tried, it slipped away, just out of reach. She sighed and fiddled with her armband.

...

Later on, Maria met up with Kaze. Kaze was sitting in the lounge of her and her brother's house. Maria let herself in and sat down on the sofa opposite her.

"How you go?" Maria asked her.

"Well, I kicked Sasuke's butt in taijutsu, that was fun." Kaze grinned.

"Of course it was." Maria smiled. "Who's your sensei?"

"Have a wild guess." Kaze rolled her eyes.

Maria thought. Who could it be, who could it -

"Ah. Of course." Maria stifled a laugh.

"The little bastard didn't even tell me." Kaze pouted. "And of course he had to be two hours late. Stupid goddamn pervert."

"What happened?" Maria smirked at her friend's annoyed look.

Kaze gave a small smile and proceeded to tell the story.

...

_Squad #7 was waiting in one of the empty classrooms of the Academy. Sakura was waiting patiently, Naruto was getting fidgety, Sasuke was as dull as ever and Kaze was asleep in a corner._

_"Aw!' Naruto suddenly yelled. "Why is our sensei so late! Everyone else has already left!" Without waiting for an answer he stood up and grabbed a chalkboard duster off one of the tables and opened the door. He stood on a stool and wedged the duster in between the door and its frame, before putting the stool back where he found it._

_"Naruto," Sakura said. "What are you doing?"_

_"It's their punishment for being late!" Naruto grinned and sat down again._

_A few minutes later they heard footsteps. The door to the classroom opened and a man walked in. The duster fell from its place and onto his head. Sasuke didn't react, Sakura winced and Naruto burst out laughing._

_"Ha, don't fall for such obvious pranks!" He rolled around on the floor, laughing his head off._

_The man brushed the chalk from his hair. "First impression," he said, "I don't like you guys."_

_Sakura slowly stood up and walked over to Kaze. She shook Kaze's shoulder and whispered, "Kaze, wake up. Kaze!"_

_The man piped up. "Ah, wait, that's not such a good idea..."_

_But it was too late. Kaze was already awake. She rubbed her eye before glaring at Sakura, who began to sweat and backed away slowly. Kaze yawned and stretched. She caught sight of the man at the door._

_"Kakashi?" She tilted her head slightly. "What are you doing here?"_

_Sakura sighed. "He's our Jonin sensei, Kaze."_

_At that Kaze stood up abruptly. "You mean you knew you were going to be our sensei this whole time and you didn't tell me?" She yelled._

_Kakashi laughed nervously. "Hey, I wanted it to be a surprise." He said, holding up his hands._

_Kaze gritted her teeth. "You know damn well I hate surprises." She glared at Kakashi, her eyes narrowed._

_Kakashi scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I thought you'd like this one." He tried._

_Kaze looked like she was about to explode. Naruto had stopped laughing, Sakura's head was whipping from Kaze to Kakashi, and even Sasuke had been watching carefully._

_"Do those guys know each other?" Naruto asked dumbly._

_Sasuke answered. "Of course they know each other, they're brother and sister." His eyes seemed to flare at the word 'brother' but he refused to show his emotions._

_"They are?" Sakura asked, still looking from one to the other. "They don't look at all alike."_

_"That's because Kakashi resembles his father, while Kaze resembles her mother." Sasuke replied._

_"You seem to know a lot about them." Naruto observed. "How come?"_

_"That's none of your business."_

_By now Kaze had stopped yelling and Kakashi had regained his composure. Kakashi sighed._

_"Well, follow me." He said, wandering out the door. Kaze walked out after him and after a few seconds, the other three followed suit._

...

"So, that's it." Kaze finished.

"You really know how to lose your temper, don't you?" Maria laughed. Kaze tried to look disapproving, but ended up laughing along with her.

**A/N: Sup everyone, MorllyberNo.1 is back!**

**Sorry this chapter took so long. I had a MAJORLY MAJOR case of writer's block on this story, but I had a go today. This may not have gone exactly how it does in the anime or manga, but meh. It'll work.**

**If this chapter sucks, let me know and I'll try and fix it. ^-^`**

**Sooo... big thanks to Gaara's Babe on Movellas for being so supportive of this story, along with Bloody Rose 2 and Rin Ayame for being the two fans of this story on this website.** **Once again, sorry it took this long.**

**Well, peace out!**


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